03/03/2011
NEWS STORY
Bernie Ecclestone has admitted that he hopes to reschedule the Bahrain Grand Prix for the end of the season, possibly as a double header with Abu Dhabi.
The decision to abandon the original running of the race was made by Bahrain's Crown Prince last week in the wake of civil unrest which resulted in a number of protestors being killed.
While Formula One Management was prepared to absorb the losses incurred, said by some to be as much as $100m, Ecclestone and the Crown Prince made it clear that they hoped to reschedule the event rather than cancel it altogether.
Speaking to BBC Sport, Ecclestone suggested that the unrest in the country has died down and that therefore it is time to start reconsidering when the race might be rescheduled.
"You never see anything about Bahrain on TV now," he said, by which logic one should assume that rather than worrying about what is happening in Libya - and the rest of the Arab world - we are all more concerned at the antics of Charlie Sheen, John Galliano and Lady Gaga's appearance at Paris Fashion Week.
"I'm hoping beyond hope things settle peacefully and we find a slot later in the year," he continued. "If there is peace in Bahrain then we will be there, we will find a way."
It's understood that if the race does go ahead - and at Pitpass we don't believe it will - it would be scheduled for the weekend after Abu Dhabi with the season ending Brazilian Grand Prix moved from November 27 to December 4.
The FIA's World Motorsport Council is due to meet in Paris on Tuesday and it is understood a decision on the staging of the race will be taken then.